‘That obvious, is it?’
‘I’m afraid so. What’s up?’
‘I’m worried about Jennifer. She’s out with her friend.’
‘And that worries you?’
‘No. Well, I don’t know. I can’t remember whether I said I’d pick her up and I can’t get hold of her.’
‘Maybe she got a taxi. I’m sure she’s fine. She might even still be having fun with her friend.’
He pressed his lips together and nodded. ‘You’re right, that’s probably all it is. I’ll do that drink and head home. She’s either having a brilliant night out or she’s sparked out in bed. If she needed a lift or a pizza on my way home, she’d have called me.’
‘Was she out anywhere nice?’
‘Just a few drinks with one of her schoolmates at the Angel. I don’t know if nice is the word.’ He laughed and headed towards the kitchen.
Gina agreed. The new licensee had made it a much nicer pub than it had been in the past but it was still a bit rough around the edges. She went to grab her bag as her mobile began to buzz. ‘DI Harte.’
‘It’s Jhanvi, we’ve just had a call-out to an incident and I’m there now. It’s a hit-and-run.’ PC Kapoor’s signal began to crackle so she repeated the word hello a few times, the young Brummie police officer’s accent as strong as ever.
‘I’m still here, Jhanvi. How can we help with the hit-and-run?’
‘It’s the victim.’
‘Okay. Do we know who it is?’
‘It’s one of our crime scene investigators, Jennifer. Jacob’s girlfriend.’
‘Damn.’ She watched as Jacob returned with two cups of coffee.
‘And there’s more.’
‘What is it?’
‘There’s another handbag at the scene belonging to someone else. We’re working on the theory that there were two women and one is missing. The other is nowhere to be seen and we have searched the area. There is also blood at the scene.’
‘And what about Jennifer? Is she okay?’ Gina felt her stomach turn as Jacob stared at her.
‘She’s in a bad way. Paramedics are about to take her to Cleevesford General but it’s not looking good. She wasn’t conscious when we arrived.’ PC Kapoor furnished her with more details of their crime scene investigator’s injuries.
‘I’m on my way. Cordon the scene off and call forensics. Get Bernard out to manage the crime scene. Can you message me the location?’
‘Will do. See you shortly.’
Jacob swallowed and his hands began to shake. ‘Something’s happened to her, hasn’t it?’
Gina took the cups from him before speaking. ‘I’m really sorry, Jacob. Jennifer has been hit by a car and she’s about to be taken to Cleevesford General.’
‘I need to be there.’
‘Just one thing, who was she out with?’
‘Annabel Braddock, her best friend.’ He took a couple of deep breaths. ‘I need to get to the hospital. I’ll call you in a bit.’
‘Go.’
He charged out of the door, knocking O’Connor’s heaped in tray as he left. Sheets of paper sashayed to the floor. Gina phoned Detective Constable Paula Wyre, prepping her to meet her at the location. Jacob needed to be with Jennifer and she needed to find the person who did this to one of their own. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She also needed to know what had happened to the other woman. Bag left at the scene. Blood too. Where had Annabel Braddock gone? Why was one girl missing?
